WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Twitter is where credit unions now "tweetup": they meet online and work together to launch new projects, including the well-known "What Are You Saving For?" (WAYSF) campaign launched last year by Members CU here.

SAN DIMAS, Calif. — Sarah Canepa Bang begins each business day by typing "hate banks" into the Twitter search engine.

"We have to cut costs." That statement has become the mantra of the past two years, leaving many already-lean credit unions faced with some tough decisions. Reducing personnel or closing branches early might chop expenses, but these tactics could also erode service. Salary freezes might cause top employees to look elsewhere. Delaying new product offerings could put the institution at a competitive disadvantage in the market.

I always enjoy reading Frank Diekmann's weekly column, since he often looks at issues affecting credit unions from a different angle than most. This is particularly true of his editorial in the July 13 issue regarding a national brand campaign for credit unions. In the editorial, he makes the observation that such a national branding campaign is not going to come from the top down; rather it will come from the bottom up. Clearly, that has been the case here in Pennsylvania.

Word of mouth, it has long been said, is the most powerful form of advertising. Indeed, credit unions have long claimed that they make up in word of mouth what they lack in advertising and marketing budgets, though it's a safe bet most marketing directors would happily take a few more dollars just to be safe.

Whitefish CU's Charlie Abell Retires After 44 Yrs

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — With the returns being paid by corporate credit unions lagging some other alternatives, the question of whether to invest in corporates varies among natural-person CUs, according to CEOs and CFOs interviewed by Credit Union Journal.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – In crisis–especially the current financial crisis–there is opportunity: That’s what NAFCU President Fred Becker asserted yesterday during opening remarks for the NAFCU annual convention.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – While consumers’ credit scores may be falling, and the amount of risk associated with even the higher scores has increased, the way those scores work continues to perform well.

HARTFORD, Conn. – Gov. Jodi Rell yesterday signed the state’s credit union student loan bill into law, creating a partially guaranteed low-rate loan for the state’s college students.

HONOLULU – Elizabeth Burkhart who served on the NCUA Board from 1982 to 1990, died yesterday at age 74 after suffering a severe stroke last Thursday.

ALBANY, N.Y. – Capital Communications FCU said its Capital Communications Cares Foundation presented $45,000 in scholarships to 18 recipients for the upcoming school year.

NORFOLK, Va. – A hit man convicted of the 2007 murder-for-hire plot against a Navy officer at the Langley FCU ATM is eligible for the death penalty, a federal jury decided Wednesday.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – NAFCU Chairman Brad Beal, president of Nevada FCU, today unveiled NAFCU’s new membership marketing tagline, "NAFCU: Your direct connection to education, advocacy & advancement."

McLEAN, Va. – Long-term home loan rates moved higher this week, after declining the previous three weeks, according to Freddie Mac.

BALTIMORE – Municipal Employees CU paid its members the first half of its anticipated annual cash bonus of $4.2 million. Loan interest rebates and extraordinary dividends were deposited in members' accounts on June 30.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Regulators have stepped up their efforts to clean up the state’s troubled credit union landscape with approval to merge eleven more credit unions, most of them in money-losing positions.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA said yesterday it approved another 21 mergers last month, ten of them involving credit unions over $400 million and six of them involving $1 billion institutions, continuing a trend of the largest credit unions gobbling the small and troubled ones.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Pay raises were down for credit union CEOs this year, but still around 4%, even as credit unions reported their worst year ever in 2008.

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Space Coast CU reported a strong second quarter, net income of almost $31 million, as it swallows Eastern Financial Florida CU in the biggest credit union merger ever.